Planning for Next Year

Sorry I missed last weeks blog, there were just too many exciting things going on during the weekend.  Happy Mother's Day to all of our David Cameron Parents.  I hope you had an enjoyable day and that your children treated you well.

This time of year keeps us busy with a number of things on the go at the school, key among them is the planning process for next year.  The District is finalizing its 2010-2011 budget and trying to deal with a million and a half projected deficit.  This will have impacts in many aspects of our school and across the District.  The Board has made a commitment to protect positions close to the classroom and to try to keep as many resources in front of children as possible.  As this process unfolds, the District is also trying to deal with future spaces for students as Sooke is one of only a few Districts province-wide with a growing population.  In particular, the District continues to pursue plans to replace Belmont Secondary with two new schools (one at Royal Bay and one at the former Glen Lake site).  There will be a public consultation meeting on this at John Stubbs School on May 18 at 7:00pm.

At David Cameron we are now in a position to begin thinking about our class configuration for next year and how we will staff for that.  This is always a difficult time for staff as the possibility of lay-offs loom.  We are hopeful that as student numbers solidify and positions become available, most people will find positions for next year.  Our school is projected to be down slightly in numbers for next year going from our current head count of around 340 to 320.  This will likely mean the reduction of one division for next year, although, the last two years have seen us add divisions in September.

Regardless of all of these difficult decisions we will always look at what is best for students and how we can use the resources available to support them the best way possible.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me at the school.